It is common practice in feeding infants of a certain range of ages to provide the infant with a container of milk at one end of which is provided a nipple. Although there are very many alternative versions of such feeding methods, a glass or plastic bottle is the common method. The bottle is provided with a cap to which is attached a flexible or elastomer nipple. In such cases, it is important that a means be provided to admit air to the bottle at the same time that the infant is sucking the milk from the nipple. This need for an air vent is not necessary in the case of a flexible bag, because it simply collapses as the milk is removed. The major problem encountered with most of these methods is that of sanitation. In the case of the glass or plastic bottle, it is necessary to sterilize not only the bottle, but also the cap and the nipple that are used with it. Some of the parts deteriorate rapidly when exposed to water of sufficient temperature to kill bacteria. In the case of the flexible milk bag, the many parts that have to be assembled to make up the bottle leads to the possiblity of the bags, nipples and other elements becoming contaminated during storage, sale, or use. The ideal system would involve elements which remain in sterile condition until used and are then disposed of. In this way, the baby is not exposed to any disease-causing bacteria. Unfortunately, those disposable systems that have been developed in the past have suffered from a number of deficiencies. In many cases, they are not capable of being initially sanitized and then remain that way until the baby has used them. Furthermore, in most cases, the equipment has been very expensive and, therefore, it is not economically feasible to dispose of them after use. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide an infant feeding system in which the elements are maintained in a sterile condition from the time of manufacture to the time of use.
Another object of this invention is the provision of an infant feeding system in which the parts can be manufactured and assembled cheaply, thus rendering it possible to dispose of the feeding elements immediately after use.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a feeding system in which the major elements of the apparatus are preassembled in a sterile condition and are not, therefore, contaminated by being assembled at the point of use.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide an infant feeding system in which the elements are assembled in a convenient storage group and enclosed in a wrap that maintains them in sterile condition until use.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a system for feeding infants in which it is possible to assemble the parts for feeding without contamination from the hands of the assembler.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system for infant feeding devices in which a large number of disposable feeding devices are compactly packaged for storage and transportation.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system for the storage and sanitary packaging of a substantial number of feeding elements.
Another object of the invention is the provision of infant feeding system which is simple in construction, which can be inexpensively manufactured, and which is capable of use in a situation where sanitary storage is difficult.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.